Gunmen storm Crimea parliament amid Ukraine tension

Flashpoint between pro-Russia, pro-West groups

By

LukasI. Alpert

PaulSonne

Reuters

A Russian flag raised next to a Crimean flag on top of the Crimean parliament building on Thursday.

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Dozens of armed men took control of the parliament and local government offices in the Ukrainian region of Crimea early Thursday, barricading themselves inside and raising a Russian flag above the building.

The commandeering of the building marks a sharp escalation of events in the ethnically Russian-dominated region that has become a flashpoint for a backlash against the pro-Western protesters that drove Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin leader from power on Saturday.

Ukraine’s acting Interior Minister, Arsen Avakov, said on his Facebook page that Ukrainian military and police had been put on alert.

Pro-Russia protests in Ukraine raise separatism fears

(1:25)

Pro-Russia demonstrations in Ukraine are raising fears of separatism as the country struggles to form a unity government after the fall of Viktor Yanukovych. Photo: AP

The occupation comes a day after a tense standoff outside the regional parliament building between thousands of pro-Russian protesters and Crimean Tatars who had largely backed the protest movement that forced President Viktor Yanukovych from power.

The chairman of Crimea’s Council of Ministers, Anatoly Mogilev, said the unknown men took control of the government offices around 4 a.m.

“While we cannot say who these people are, negotiations with them will begin,” he said. “Everything is under control. It is a negotiation process.”

He said the men haven’t harmed anyone and that security personnel were on the scene. Mogilev said that all government work had been suspended until the matter is resolved.

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